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Many people tend to be good investors when it comes to financial assets. However, only a few are good at investing in their health, despite its absolute necessity for overall well-being. Dr. Thomas Rutledge on Psychology Today explains that your health "portfolio" includes resources from your exercise habits to your stress management skills. The return rates for these health investments share similar principles with financial investments: start investing early and keep this up consistently for the best results.
By investing in your health, you will gain the ability to pursue your dreams and enjoy close relationships. Unsure where to start? Read on for our guide to taking care of your body.
Prioritize sleep
It can be easy to forgo sleep in lieu of all your other tasks. However, a lack of quality sleep will end up detrimental to your wellness and daily performance. As we've explained in How to Mindfully Include Self-Care, this will also have long-term effects on your health such as high blood pressure or heart strain.
Make it a habit to go to bed at a regular time. Tucking devices away for an hour beforehand is a good trick because the blue light from screens mimics daylight and can throw off your circadian rhythm. Otherwise, a good quality mattress, like the Layla Memory Foam Mattress, can keep your spine in a neutral position to ease away any back pain that’s been accumulated.
Pick the right kind of furniture
You can lessen any bodily pains acquired in your day-to-day activities by selecting the right kind of furniture. For back pain, ergonomic chairs like the Herman Miller Embody Chair at Pain Free Working can provide superior lumbar support with its Called Pixelated Support. This uses a matrix of pixels on the seat and backrest that allows the chair to conform to your body.
Sedentary lifestyles, no matter how minimized, will always have a negative impact on your health. Investing in a standing desk alongside your ergonomic chair can provide more proactive support. The sit–stand desks from VariDesk require little effort to move the desk up and down. A 2021 study found significant improvement in fasting triglycerides and insulin resistance among their participants that used these products over 24 weeks.
Find appropriate exercise
Find an exercise that you enjoy and make an effort to commit to this regularly. Enrolling in a weekly fitness class can encourage you to consistently attend, and you can work your way up from one hourly session per week to two hourly sessions and onwards.
Consistency helps, with 2021 research published in the Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness finding that regular training has a greater effect on aerobic capacity, fasting blood glucose and blood lipids. However, an irregular exercise pattern, whether it is sporadic attendance in the gym or the occasional walk in the neighborhood, also offers lesser benefits and should still be considered by time-poor individuals.
Medicate proactively
Many adults tend to forego medical treatment for reasons that range from expensive fees to long waiting lines. Some also downplay the severity of an ailment and wait until it becomes unbearable to receive medication.
Medicating proactively means nipping any body ailments in the bud before they develop into worse conditions. Our Hormone Replacement Therapy at BluePrint Health, for one, treats imbalances, and this can ease symptoms that range from weight gain, mood swings, depression, erectile dysfunction, and lean muscle decline. This boosts one’s immunity system while reclaiming their vitality and youth.
There’s no better time than today to invest in your health. The earlier you start, the longer you can enjoy a body that’s capable of maximum possibilities.
Article contributed by Rosie Johnson